CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

[Leethal Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Leethal]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

Okay I will ask the obvious..... :?

D4D's fridge temp increased by 10 degrees in 30 minutes, therefore it appears to have very poor insulation ... but was the fridge empty or full?

If empty then really the time is not much of an indicator because "air" doesn't hold its temp for long compared to a frozen or chilled mass of food/drink etc

I run my fridge 24/7 as I believe thats the best way to "store" a fridge, if empty it cycles more often than when full of drinks (soft of course for my young daughter :wink: )

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

It was empty, maybe I should fill it with cans :wink:

[Leethal Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Leethal]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

[quoteIt was empty, maybe I should fill it with cans ][/quote]

Of course you should, its better for the enviroment too, not wasteing the energy keeping "nothing" cool in the fridge.

Better to keep a couple of cold ones available for after finishing the lawn/gutters

[lofty Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close lofty]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

Intresting test last night, we had the power fail for about 2 hours, temp in garage was 39 (43 degree day) it took all of half an hour for the CF50 in bag to get to 10 degrees, enough to spoil food if you were in the bush and your battery failed.

I think he meant the fridge temperature rose up by 10 degrees after the loss of power. :roll:

:shock: now that i have read it with my brain engaged it actually makes sense :lol:

[ntp Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close ntp]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

Looks like a couple of good deals on getawaeco.com.au at the moment.

[nika Member Find all posts View Profile Close nika]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

Looks like a couple of good deals on getawaeco.com.au at the moment.

The 10.5l is a bloody good price, wish I got it for this price.
http://www.getawaeco.com.au/products.asp?id=483&catId=6

[Ozpat Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ozpat]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

My first experience with the Bushman fridge using the extension collar and dome lid you may find informative.
I ran it off my deep cycle battery outside the car and connected to a 160 amp solar panel for 5 days while camping.
The fridge was fully loaded with the temp set at around zero. Any food at the top was getting too warm so I kept reducing the temp eventually getting down to minus 12 deg. That meant the food at the bottom was freezing solid before the top was getting cold enough.
The cooling coils on the Bushman is on the bottom so I would think that the brands where they are on the sides would mean better cooling efficiency.
After 4 days the fridge stopped working but I didn't have a paper clip or similar to fit into the reset hole. (Battery was reading 12.2v) I came home the next day and got it going again after resetting.
Lessons learned...beer in cans chill faster than bottles.

[Jon Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Jon]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

I have an old 'green' Engel fridge which is about 30 years old. This fridge has outlived 5 4WD's. Have travelled extensively over plenty of rough tracks.
Never missed a beat over the years, would highly reccommend Engel, they have a 'swing' motor which works very well.
I have always wired up a dedicated outlet for the fridge from the deep cycle battery using decent size cable. This ensures minimal voltage drop and is seperately fused.

[samo Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close samo]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

when it comes to choosing a fridge it all depends on what you are happy with and what works for you, we can all sit here and say waeco is better then engel, or vice versa, it like toyota is better then nissan which we all know the answer to that, but what it all boils down to is as long as its cold and and the beer isnt warm. in the end they all do the same job. cheers samo

[Ozpat Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ozpat]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

but what it all boils down to is as long as its cold and and the beer isnt warm. in the end they all do the same job. cheers samo

Yes Samo, that's my priorities too but the Bushman was not performing to my expectations. Maybe it was overloaded too much (with food) or maybe other similar size fridge brands perform better in the cold temperature distribution with the same load, I don't know, not having enough experience. I'm just reporting on the Bushman. Other PPers may have no such problems with their Engels/Waecos etc. and others in the market may want to know these things first before they decide on the brand. It just meant I was struggling to get a decent flow of cold ones on NYE at Crowdy NP. Not happy Sam.

Cheers Jim

[mudboy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mudboy]

CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

I have 2 a gas one and an engel

The gas one is ok but does not get as cold as the engel, so I use this for things that don't get effected so much with temp variations

The engel is much better for temp but only runs off car battery when away, so need to run car every few days to charge or use solar

I would buy engel as first preference
David

[nickchap Member Find all posts View Profile Close nickchap]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

Engel is tops for me.

Had it for 6 years and done numerous trips OB.
Keep it in the car full time but do not put it on unless I need it (A few cans that are used for back up 8) )

The other day our fridge/freeze S#!T itselfagain :evil:
Threw all the frozen stuff in the Engel and cranked it flat out.( it was a hot day and the garage wasHOT)
It got down to -6 in about an hour and when I drove around about -10.
The best thing I have found is to plug it into 240V-.Got down to -16 and less.
Saved the lamb roast :mrgreen:

Nick

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

Pretty much same comment as Samo. Whateve flicks your switch. As long as it fits in the boot, fits your food and drink and keeps it cold who gives a toss to the brand. It's all personal taste. Same with the vehicle you drive, your setup and the clothes you wear.

[meatman61 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close meatman61]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

We have a 40 and 60 Engel(bought few years apart) The only thing of real difference for me that i could find, is Engel have a steel box and lid. Remembering from my younger esky days, inverably, sooner or later, someone stands on them,, figure steel a bit tougher. Apart from that, power usage, price, all pretty similar. Maybe one small plus for Waeco,steel scratches easier, plastic looks newer longer. Ours have paid for themselves many times with esky ice we havent bought.

[Ozpat Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ozpat]

Re: CAR FRIDGE, WHICH IS BEST

Pretty much same comment as Samo. Whateve flicks your switch. As long as it fits in the boot, fits your food and drink and keeps it cold who gives a toss to the brand. It's all personal taste.

Yes, but this doesn't help those of us who never had a fridge before, who don't know what flicks our switch and is looking for other's personal experience before deciding on brand. Looking back on the postings it seems that fridges ain't fridges.